Thursday, December 10, 2009

More about Benedito (4): On Txiki and Camp Nou

Barcelona presidential candidate Agustí Benedito has in the past weeks given several interviews to Catalan newspapers, radio stations and television channels. This blog will give an overview of what the Catalan businessman had to say.

Salary employees and playersI believe there should be more transparency and that the club members, as owners of the club, should be informed about the salaries of the executives of the club. And the same goes for the players.

I think the fans want to know these things and have the right to know. In general, we should be more economical, in all areas. This also involves the number of employees, which has increased from 170-180 in 2002 to over 300 now.

The exit of board membersWhen we formed our candidacy back in 2003, we thought we didn't have a lot of chances to win. We saw it more as another step - we had already been involved in a couple of elections. We wanted to let ourselves know, to play a role, to explain our project so that the next time, in 2007, we could win. But we won in 2003.

It's true that not all the directors knew each other for years. So you hadn't those close and long personal relationships and that could also have led to what we've seen over the years.

Fifteen people from the board of directors have left over the years, Joan Franquesa being the last one. And not counting members of several commissions of the club. I nevertheless think that every dismissal had its own specific circumstances and that there isn't one reason for this.

The group of Rosell for example left for different reasons than the ones who left after the vote of no confidence. In the case of Sandro Rosell, there was an internal power battle going on within the board, others have left for other reasons. Every case was different so I don't think it's fair to say that president Laporta is responsible for all the dismissals.

Franquesa? I have been very close with Joan. I talked with him before he left. He's a great person and an even greater Barcelona fan and it's a pity that the club won't be able to count on his qualities anymore. I'm sure he has had his reasons and for a man like him to leave the club, these must have been very serious. I can only wish him all the best.

BegiristainI think that the era of Txiki will come to an end next year. I don't know what he will decide but what is clear to me is that if we win the elections, Txiki Begiristain won't continue. We will propose something else, but this is still too sensitive at this moment so I prefer to wait until the campaign starts to talk about our proposal.

Link with RosellI have a good relationship with some of the people who apparently will be part of the candidacy of Sandro, like for example Jordi Moix, but I haven't offered him to collaborate with him.

Before making the decision to run mid-July, I have indeed been talking with him but also with other people, namely current or former board members like Ferran Soriano, Albert Vicens, Albert Perrín, Joan Franquesa, Josep María Bartomeu, basically with a lot of people.

New Camp NouI think the Foster project has been dealt with badly from the start. The stadium needs a remodeling because it's 52 years old, but the investment shouldn't be so massive.

The budget is 250 million euros but the majority of the specialists say that it could in the end cost the club 400 million euros. It's a decision that is economically and strategically so important for the club that it can only be made after consulting with the fans.